On Monday, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale released a sprawling piece entitled “10 biggest MLB hot stove questions, from top free agents to latest trade rumors.”

And while Nightengale’s track record on these types of things isn’t exactly stellar, he is among the most veteran reporters on the national beat.

If he’s hearing whispers, there’s almost certainly smoke. Is there an accompanying fire to any of these? That remains to be seen.

But for our purposes, let’s focus in on one of the three Red Sox nuggets he dropped.

This coming from his subsection, “Where will Kyle Tucker, Bo Bichette and Alex Bregman land?”

“Bregman won’t get $40 million a year from the Red Sox after walking away from $80 million over two years, but the Red Sox still make the most sense, particularly with the Tigers proving they can win without him and the Cubs finding a third baseman with rookie Matt Shaw.”

Last Monday, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reported that the third baseman had officially opted out of the final two years of his three-year deal with Boston, leaving $80 million on the table to once again test the free agent market.

Abraham’s report follows multiple media reports from mid October saying Bregman and his super agent Scott Boras had been planning to make this decision for weeks.

Like Nightengale wrote, it’s hard to imagine Bregman will find a landing spot with a higher AAV than what he had in Boston, but the potential for more years at a smaller AAV could be on the table.

Bregman missed 48 games in 2025, spending a chunk of the season on the IL after straining his quad while trying to leg out a single against the Orioles on May 23.

After a strong start to his first year in Boston landed him a spot on the All-Star team, Bregman cooled off down the home stretch of the season. He finished the year batting .273 with 18 home runs, 62 RBI and 64 runs scored across 495 plate appearances. His on-base percentage was .360 and his slugging percentage was .462, good for an OPS of .821 - 25 points lower than his career OPS of .846.

To get a better idea as to what Bregman could be commanding on the open market, here’s what former MLB executive Jim Bowden wrote about Bregman’s market in his column on contract predictions for the top 50 MLB free agents for the The Athletic:

“Alex Bregman, 3B (opt-out)

Age: 31
Bats: R
Throws: R
2025 bWAR: 3.5
2025 team: Boston Red Sox
Agent: Boras Corp.

“Bregman has an opt-out in his contract with the Red Sox and his camp has already indicated that he plans to test the free-agent market for a second straight offseason. He battled a quad injury for a good part of the 2025 season, and still managed to slash .273/.360/.462 with 28 doubles, 18 home runs and 62 RBIs in 495 plate appearances, though he was significantly less productive after returning from the IL (.727 OPS) than he had been before the injury (.927 OPS). Bregman was a leader in the Boston clubhouse by example and words, mentoring many of the Red Sox young future stars. He will be sought-after in free agency as the industry views him as a winning player who can contribute on both sides of the ball and perform on the biggest stage in the biggest moments. He’ll likely seek a long-term contract instead of settling for a shorter-term deal like he did last year. By opting out of his deal with the Red Sox, he’s walking away from a guaranteed $41.67 million in each of the next two seasons.

“Salary comps: Matt Chapman 6-years, $151 million; Willy Adames 7-years, $182 million; Rafael Devers 10-years, $313.5 million; Anthony Rendon 7-years, $245 million; Nolan Arenado 8-years, $260 million; José Ramírez 7-years, $141 million
Best team fits: Red Sox, Tigers, Yankees, Phillies, Dodgers, Cubs, Mariners, Mets
Contract prediction: 6-years, $182 million”

Late last month, the list of nominees at each position for the 2025 Silver Slugger Awards were announced, and Bregman was the only member of the 2025 Red Sox to receive a nomination (he ultimately lost to Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez). For a team in desperate need of more consistent hitting in their lineup, Bregman is someone who, clearly, did it as good as anyone in a Red Sox uniform during his one season in Boston.

Among all American League third basemen with at least 450 plate appearances this past season, he ranked fifth in batting average (.273), tied for first in OBP (.360), third in slugging percentage (.462), fourth in home runs (18), and sixth in RBI (62).

With that said, Bregman’s numbers were better (.299/.385/.553) before suffering an injury to his quad while trying to leg out a single against the Orioles in May, forcing him to miss seven weeks in the middle of the summer. Upon his return, Bregman never completely bounced back to prior form, posting a .250/.338/.386 slash line to finish out the season.

Even with Nightengale writing the Cubs and Tigers would no longer be in the mix for Bregman, Bowden listed teams like the Dodgers, Phillies and Mets as possible suitors for his projected six years and $182 million. The Red Sox better be willing and able to overpay if they’d like the leader of their clubhouse to return in 2026. All of those organizations are unafraid of overpaying to get their guy. Boston, as we all know at this point, hasn’t shown that type of aggression on the free agent market in quite some time (unless you believe in their pursuit of Juan Soto last winter).

Tom Carroll is a contributor for Roundtable, with boots-on-the-ground coverage of all things Boston sports. He's a senior digital content producer for WEEI.com, and a native of Lincoln, RI.